Xin Nian Hao!

Happy New Year–Xin nian hao!This is heard again and again in the Concert Hall in Aarhus.Both Chinese and Danes greet one another,and all are here to celebrate the Chinese New Year.It all started in humble surroundings in 2002.It was in a shopping mall in the outskirts of Copenhagen.In spite of lack of space and facilities the celebration was a relative success,and     

Reich und zufrieden? Theorie und Empirie zur Beziehung von Wohlstand und Lebenszufriedenheit

Different influences moderate the complex association between income and life satisfaction. In the research literature, basic human need satisfaction, interpersonal comparison processes, and adaptation are usually proposed as the driving theoretical mechanisms. Using the German Socio-economic Panel and a self conducted cross-sectional survey for the urban area of Munich this article is empirically testing hypotheses derived from these different explanations. In result, all three mechanisms add to the understanding of the nonlinear income-life satisfaction-relationship. Above a threshold of approx. 800?? monthly disposable income wealth has no further effect on life satisfaction. Based on this finding a definition of individual wealth is proposed. Furthermore, as opposed to income from employment capital income has a neglectable effect on life satisfaction. There is only weak evidence for relative income effects regarding respondent??s neighborhood but stronger evidence for the relevance of comparisons with more specific reference groups such as average citizens. Moreover, panel analyses confirm hypotheses of aspiration and adaptation. Thereby??at least for the well-off??income losses outweigh gains.     

The self-selection of democracies into treaty design: insights from international environmental agreements

Generally, democratic regime type is positively associated with participating in international environmental agreements. In this context, this study focuses on the legal nature of an agreement, which is linked to audience costs primarily at the domestic level that occur in case of non-compliance and are felt especially by democracies. Eventually, more legalized (“hard-law”) treaties make compliance potentially more challenging and as democratic leaders may anticipate the corresponding audience costs, the likelihood that democracies select themselves into such treaties decreases. The empirical implication of our theory is that environmental agreements with a larger share of democratic members are less likely to be characterized by hard law. Results from quantitative analyses strongly support our argument, shed new light on the relationship between participation in international agreements and the form of government, and also have implications for the “words-deeds” debate in international environmental policy-making.     

Single-item predictive validity of the Short-Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability (START) for violent behaviour in outpatient forensic psychiatry

The single-item predictive validity of the Short-Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability (START) has not been thoroughly investigated, although this has great clinical relevance for the selection of treatment targets. Furthermore, it remains unclear whether the characteristic START additions of scoring strengths next to vulnerabilities and selecting key items, add incremental predictive validity. Finally, predictive validity has primarily been studied in inpatient settings and included mainly patients with a psychotic disorder. We analysed data from a mixed diagnostic sample of 195 forensic psychiatric outpatients with a 3-month and 170 patients with a 6-month follow-up period, using logistic regression analysis. The occurrence of violent or criminal behaviour was established based on the case manager’s recordings in the patient’s file. Only 5 of the 20 START items were found to have predictive validity: Impulse Control, Attitudes, Material Resources, Rule Adherence and Conduct. The last three were the only items for which incremental predictive validity was found with respect to scoring it as a strength and a vulnerability. Selection of key items did not add to the predictive validity. While possibly having therapeutic significance, the scoring of strength next to vulnerability and the selection of key items, may not be beneficial for risk assessment.     

Longitudinal Outcomes for Youth Receiving Runaway/Homeless Shelter Services

This research examined outcomes and use of specific types of services 6 weeks, 3 and 6 months post-discharge for a large sample of runaway/homeless youth using crisis shelter services. Data were collected for 371 runaway/homeless youth using emergency shelter and crisis services at eleven agencies across a four-state midwestern region. Outcomes were assessed for runaway behavior, family relationships, substance use, school behavior, employment, sexual behavior, and self-esteem. Additionally, the impact of services on outcomes was assessed. Findings indicated that although youth achieved a wide variety of positive outcomes 6 weeks post-discharge, there were signs of attenuation of certain outcomes by the 6 month follow-up. Service use after discharge did not demonstrate a strong impact on maintaining outcomes. The substantive findings reported here present encouraging evidence for providers of services for runaway/homeless youth. Crisis shelter services appear to facilitate broad-based short-term gains, but do not appear sufficient to maintain these gains over an extended period.